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That’s What He Said
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” There are several things the crowd may have expected Jesus to say. Obviously this was one thing they did not expect.
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The Poor in Spirit
We are in a favorable place with God when we learn to appreciate how much we must rely on Him.
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Those Who Mourn
When Lazarus died and his family was deep in grief, Jesus stood by the grave with them and wept. It is a beautiful picture of God’s heart for those who mourn.
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The Meek
Jesus had inner strength unmatched by any other person…yet his life was marked by gentleness and humility.
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Hunger for Righteousness
While some longings may never be satisfied, Jesus says there is one longing that surely will.
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The Merciful
No one will make it through life without being the subject of another person’s harmful actions. When it happens, the important question will be regarding the nature of our reaction.
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Pure in Heart
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. To such people, God fulfills the promise that those who seek shall find.
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Peacemakers
Peacemaking is more than simply getting people to get along with each other. It is getting people to be in unity with each other as they are in unity with God’s sovereign reign.
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Persecuted
God’s promise is not for an easy journey, but for a glorious destination.
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Salt
The thing that matters about salt is not what the label says, but what it is able to do.
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Light
Humanity is in no less need of the light of Jesus than we have ever been. Even with all of our acquired knowledge and cultural refinement, we will never know the way to life without Christ.
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Scripture
The problem Jesus brings to the surface is a problem we still face today: we have the scriptures, but we often don’t understand the scriptures.
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Heart Righteousness
The problem with the Pharisees was not that their bar of obedience to the Law was set too low. Rather, the problem was that their application of the Law was too shallow.
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Anger
Jesus will effectively demonstrate that one might well be a Law-breaker while appearing to be a Law-keeper.
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Lust
Outward obedience is good, but insufficient for us to be confident in our righteousness. Many who claim to be guiltless as it pertains to adultery will squirm at Jesus’ teaching here.
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Marriage
Time after time God could have rightly called it quits on the covenant with Israel, and no one would have blamed God for doing so. Yet God is so extraordinarily committed to covenant-keeping that he pursued his “bride” and wooed her back.
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Is Your Yes a Yes?
If the norm of our human condition is that our words carry little weight, it can be expected that we will at times need to find ways of adding credibility to what we say.
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Eyes and Cheeks
Doing what you are required to do is duty, obligation, or simply conceding to brute force. But doing what you are not required to do? That’s grace.
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Like Dad
If you pray for those who persecute you, and love those who hate you, you begin to look like Dad. This is the divine nature on display.
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Practicing Religion
Pride has a voracious appetite, and it will even use our religious practices to satisfy its hunger.
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Simple Prayer
Jesus gives us a model prayer that guides us into simple yet intimate fellowship with a Heavenly Father who loves us beyond measure and knows us completely.
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As We Forgive
When we have difficulty extending complete forgiveness, it shouldn’t surprise us. We are trying to do something that is according to God’s nature, not that of fallen humankind.
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